A Research Company

#Africa #Markets – Factors to watch on Sept. 15

(REUTERS) The following company announcements, scheduled
economic indicators, debt and currency market
moves and political events may affect African markets
on Friday.

GLOBAL MARKETS
U.S. stock futures and Asian shares dipped after North Korea
fired another missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean on
Friday, demonstrating Pyongyang’s defiance in the face of
intensifying sanctions.

WORLD OIL PRICES
Oil prices were lower on thin trading on Friday but on
course for weekly gains, the third in a row in the case of
Brent, as the clean-up after hurricanes in the United States
gathered pace and the outlook for demand took on a firmer
tone.

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
South Africa’s rand eased on Thursday to three-week lows
after data showed the current account deficit widened in the
second quarter, while mining shares weighed on the
bourse.

NIGERIA BONDS
Nigeria has started the sale of a 100 billion naira ($326
million) debut sovereign sukuk on the local market to fund
road infrastructure, the Debt Management Office said on
Thursday.

NIGERIA OIL
Nigeria plans to shut its three oil refineries for an
overhaul aimed at increasing their productivity by the end
of 2019, a spokesman for the state oil company said on
Thursday.

NIGERIA COCOA
Nigeria should see a bumper cocoa harvest in the coming
season as late rains have helped boost pod production, the
head of the cocoa association said on Thursday.

KENYA BANKS
Kenya’s national assembly will throw out any bill aimed at
altering the interest rate cap imposed on commercial banks
last year, the legislator who sponsored the rate-capping law
said on Thursday.

KENYA HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES
China’s Huawei Technologies has changed its
strategy in Kenya this month to showcase an affordable
$100-200 range of smart phones, hoping the increased sales
will boost its local market share, the company’s country
manager said on Thursday.

KENYA ELECTIONS
Observers found some technical problems but no evidence of
vote-rigging in Kenya’s presidential election last month,
the European Union said on Thursday, based on random checks
of tallies from polling stations.

GHANA COCOA
Ghana will keep the price it pays farmers for cocoa
unchanged if not higher next season, its industry regulator
said on Thursday, raising the likelihood of rampant
smuggling from neighbouring Ivory Coast, the world’s top
producer.

UGANDA MARKETS
The Uganda shilling was steady on Thursday and was
expected to firm, helped by the central bank mopping up
excess local currency liquidity from the money
markets.

UGANDA OIL
Uganda signed an oil exploration deal with Australia’s
Armour Energy Limited on Thursday, the first under a
protracted competitive licensing round launched in
2015.

——-//

SOUTH AFRICA – Current account deficit in Q2 2017 at 2.4%
of GDP (prev 2.0% rev)